Manufacture of shoes



April 2, 1940. M. E. DucKoFF 2,195,482

MANUFACTURE 0F SHOES Filed July 3, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fi 5 50 20 l April 2, 1940. M. E. DUcKoFF 2,195,482

` MANUFACTURE OF SHOES FiledvJuly s, 1957 2 sheets-sheet 2 .Patentednpazl 194e PATENT OFFICE;

. -2,195,4s2 y MANI'IFACT'URE or sHoEs y v Maxwell E. Duckofl, Manchester, N. H., assignor kto 'United `Shoe Machineryfco'rporation, Borough of Flemington, N. 1.1.7,. rat.corporation of New Jersey Application'my aiemyserviarno. 151,ss4v` eolwims.` (cria- 142) f vThis invention relates to improvements in 'methods-of shoemaking and is hereinv illustrated with reference to the manufacturev of shoes the y inner and outer soles of which havecomplemen- 5 tary intertting portions in theirforeparts.

4The invention provides an improved method of making shoes which, as herein illustrated,y

comprises positioning upon the central portion lonly of the forepartof an insole on a last va stift` v15 sole into the bottomv of the last andthus lremovably securing the lasting piece and theinsole to the last and reinforcing the forepart of the insole, placing an upper on the last,` applying cement between the margin of the insole and the M margin of the upper, working the upper at the shank over the insole andsecuring it to the body of the insole, working the upper over thefore.-

part ci the insole into lasted position against,

the rib of the Alasting piece andinserting fas`' teuings through the upper to secure it ternporarily tothe rib, trimming off those- `portions of the rib and the upper which are secured together after the cement has become set, and thereafter withdrawing the tacks, removing the remainder 8|)v of the lasting piece and attaching an outsolegj". Therib of the lasting pieceperforms the function of the lasting lip which, in accordancewitha welleknown practice, is formedvupon the mar-` ginal portion of an insole as by channeling the Si insole and 'turning up the channel iiap or by stitching a tape to the insole. Thus, the use of .the ribbed lasting piece enables the lasting opv eration to be accomplishedy by means ofa ma-A .chine of the type employing a gripper for ten- '4g sioning successive portions of the upper `over V.the

last, 'each tensioned portion being laid in vintimate contact with the margin ofytlie insole and secured in lasted lposition by a staple driven I' `through the upper and the insole lip thereby in- 45' suring tighter and better lasting of the shoe. .The rib is formed by molding or otherwise, as an in'- tegral partei the lasting piece and the latter is preferablyy composed of stiff tough iiberlooard or the like. The rib Which extends entirely .around 54)@` the periphery of the lasting piece serves to stiffen .it so that the lasting piece will more effectivelyre` inforce theinsole forepart and Willprevent ity from buckling under the iniiuence of theinward wiping movements `of the' lasting instrumentali- 55 ties. Furthermore, the construction of the rib is suchv that vit cannot be 'defected .imm its f up.. v standing yposition by thenstrainsfofv the lasting (operation vor lay-*strains due .to the y reaction of the lasted upper. Consequently, the rib'will eiec-` p thus the formation of any. undesirable fullness or lilkal wrinkleslin the lasted upper will be 4avoided. 'l y i j" Illhe-use lof the improved-lasting piece ispar- Y' ticularly advantageous in the manufacture' of shoes having skeletonized vinsoles lbecause ofpthey ,uw diiilculties of channeling the rand-like foreparts-r 15' yof such insoles andthe expense of'lstitchinga' tape thereto `for:the purpose of providing a lasting lip. As shown, the lasting'piece is' securedto the last by means of tacks which'also extendl through the rand-like forepart of the skeleton irlfsolerand thus assist in reinforcing the latter against being stretched vas a result of the "reacf A- *y l tion of'thelasted upper. 'Preferably, however;

a reinforcing piece or patch of strong fabric orj v the like is applied tothe forepartrof the )s kele- `2lx ton insole so as to cover lthekopenilng" therein and is iirmly cemented to th'e rand'portionjof the insole, thereby even ymore effectively reinforcing the insole forepart against stretching or i. deformation. Preferably, and as shown, this'reini 30-V forcing piecevis applied to the outsole-facing 'sidey of l the 'insole and is' permitted to remain in theiinished shoe where it functions to' 'rein. force the insole throughout the life of the shoe.` n The invention will. be vexplained with reifer- 35 ence to the vaccomp'aming drawings, in which;v

Fig. l is a perspective view of the forward portion of an insole used in the practice'of my improved method showing the side of the insole which is to face the outsole;I` 0? Fig. 2 is a perspective view of theiorward por`-` tionl of the outsole showing the upper side thereof;

3 is a `perspective view of an insole reinforcing patch whichv is preferably used inthe .practice of my method; v 4'5" Fig. 4 is a perspective View of the blank from which .the improved lasting piece is made;

f Fig. 5 isa sectional view illustrating the method of molding the lasting piece;y l y "Figi 6 is a perspective. View of the Vlastingpiece 50 as vit appears after having ybeen molded;`

Fig. '7 is a perspective viewof the insole -ftofgether with the lasting kpieceand othera'ssol vciated parts yas they appear after the insole has beensecured to'thebottom of the last; 557

Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional View taken substanmuy along .the une vnr-vm of Fig. 7 and after having been placed upon the last;

Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional View illustrating the operation of securing the lasted upper to thevrib showing also theupper materials as they appear' of the lasting piece; v Fig. 10 is a perspective View of the shoe as it appears after the lasting 'of `the upper has been Completed;

Fig. 11 is a perspective View of the shoe in a:

later stage of manufacture;

Fig, 12 is a. cross-sectional View taken along the une XII-X11 o-f Fig. 11; .i

Fig. 13 vis a vieW similar to Fig. 12 but 'illustrating the shoe as it appears after the. lasting'.

piece `has been entirely removed; Y

Fig. 14 is afragmentary cross-sectional View taken along the line XIV-XIV of Fig. 10;

Fig. 15 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of the shoe asv it appears after the outsole has `been attached; and

Fig. 1.6 is a View similar to Fig. 1-5 but showing an alternative form of construction. l 1 l In the drawings, the inventionhas been illustrated in its application to the manufacture of shoes the bottoms of which are provided in their lforeparts `with complementary inte-rtting portions for the purpose of rendering them more flexible.` As shown, the shoe bottom comprises an insole 2l!` having a central opening 22 in-its forepart, and an outsole 24 provided with a cene tral `forep-art projection 2liv that is complemental to the opening inthe insole. The insole opening 22 is defined, by` a beveled surface 3l that is formed upon the rand-like forepart 32 of the 'insole and is:r complemental to abeveled surface 33 which constitutes the marginal portion of the outsole projection 26. For the purpose of still further increasing the flexibility of the shoe bottom the projectionl 26 on the outsole is herein shown. as having :formed therein a series of trans-` versely disposed open cuts or grooves 28 which are V-shaped in cross-section, while the insole 29 isprovided, upon the .side which is to face the outsole, with a series of transverse cuts or slits 30 which extend only part way through the i `34. Advantageously, the reinforcing patch 34 i forcing. member, is applied to that side of the inmay consist of a` thin piece of woven fabric, pref erably cut on the bias and shaped so as to adapt it to cover the insole opening 22 and bridge the slits 30. As shown, the reinforcing patch 34, which is to be retained as apermanent reinsole which is to face the outsole and is secured to the beveled and slit surface of the insole by meansof cement. Thus, in the finished shoe, the edge of the reinforcing` piece 34 will. not be exposed at the foot-engaging side of the insole -Where, in the absence of a sock `lining in the for'epart of the shoe, it might tend to irritate `the foot. The reinforcing patch A34, in addition to `strengthening. `the shoe bottom, will serve also to `cover the opengrooves 28' in the outsole projection 25 l so as to insure that a smooth surface will be 'i presented to the foot in. the central fo-repart of the shoe bottom even if no sock lining is used. Furthermore, the cementing of the reinforcing patch to the-insole inthe manner described will prevent the thin Vinner edge' 36 of the rand-like?.

securing `toxtlfiat side which is togiace the outsole a shank; stiffener 4G and a heel and shank reinforcing piece 42, the latter, as shown, being substantially coextensive with the heel and shank `portions of the stiifener upon the insole (the shank stilfenerbeing. longitudinally curved to conform to the curvature of the last or form), laying the reinforcing piece upon the insole over the shank stiffener, and finally attaching the partsby pressing them against the last or form by means of a yielding pad thereby at the same time molding the. reinforcing piece and the corresponding portion of the insole into conformity with the curvature of the last bottom. It mayalso be desirableto employ wire stap-les 44 (Fig. 7) for securing the reinforcing piece 42 to the linsole 29, either tov supplen'ientv the cement attachment or as. the sole means/for attaching the reinforcing piece.. Y

In order to facilitate the lasting of the forepart of the shoe upper and the securing of its lasting allowance by cement tothe insole there is asseml bled with thel insole 2G, upon a last 45, a lasting piece 0,8A which `is preferably made of thin stiff material `such as liberboard'. As herein shown; the lasting piece 43 is cf `a marginal contour corresponding substantially to that of the forepartfL only of the insole and it is formed with an end.` less upstanding rib 5t which extends entirely around the periphery of the piece and effectively reinforces it against .bending about axes extending either lengthwise or crosswise thereof.V

insole so as. to leave exposed a narrow marginal portion 52 (Fig. '7) around the forepart of the insole for'receiving the lasting allowance of the upper. The rib 50 of the lasting piece is thus the i adapted to serve as a lasting lip and shoulder t0 which an upper may be temporarily secured so that it will be held in place during the setting 'of lasting cement which is to be used toy secure the upper to the marginal portion of the insole.

As shown in Fig. 4, the lasting piece is cut large enough to. allow for Vthe subsequent upturning of the rib 5l) and this operation is preferably accompl-ished by molding the lasting piece between i piece so as to form an endless rib around its periphery which is substantially perpendicular to the flat bottom surface of the lasting piece. If

` used with a` skeleton insole, such as the insole 20, 'the lasting piece preferably corresponds substantially in both shape and sizetol that of the space within the outer edge of the beveled surface 3| which definesv the forepart opening in the in-v sole. Thus, the lasting piece is adapted tol overlap the beveled surface 3| ofthe insole substantially to the same extent as the reinforcing patch.

The lasting piece 48 is laid over the forepart of the insole 2B on the last in the-position shownin l Fig. "7' and boththe lasting 'piece and the4 insole are removably secured to the last by means of tacks V(ill which are driven through the lasting piece, thereinforcing patch, the insole-fand into the last. As shown, the tacks extend throughlthe beveled portion of the insole and thus serve, in addition to the reinforcing patch, `to reinforce the skeletonv forepart. of the insole against L'being 4stretched ordeformed by' the reaction of the lasted upper While it is on the last.

Shoeupper materials comprising an upper vS4, and a lining 66 are now assembled with the inof the shank portion ofthe shoe by means, for example,of a machine of thel type disclosed in Letters Patent of the United StatesNo. 1,815,297;L granted July 21, 1931, upon application of George! Gddu, Athe machine operating to tension the,

upper and to .drive staples'lthrough the lasted upper materials, thereinforcing piece 42 and into the insole 2G, the legs-of the staples vbeing curved Within the material Iof the reinforcing piece and Athe insole without Apenetrating the inner surface, of the insole, as illustrated in Fig. 14.

The lasting operation at the forepart of the shoe may next be performed by the'use, for ex.- ample, of a machine ofthe type disclosed inLetters Patent ofthe Unitedv States No. 1,796,451, granted ,March l'7, 1931, upon application of George Goddu. Inthe operation of lasting the upper at the forepart of the shoe the upper is seized byv a gripper 80, tensioned upwardly, and

drawn over the insole, after which a staplenozzle 82 engages the upper and forces itwhile under tension into the angle between the marginal portion of the insole and vthe rib 50 of the lasting piece 48, the rib at this time being backed up by a guiding and clinching tool or anvil 84, as shown in Fig. 9. A staple 86 is then driven throughthe upper materials and through the .rib 50, the points of the staples being clinched against the inner surface of the rib bythe anvil 84.

` Although the forepart lasting operation may be continued around the toe portion of the shoe so as to last the toe, it is'usually preferable to employ end embracing wipers in this operation such as are provided by the well-known Bed Lasting Machine. If such wipers are employed for lasting the toe` the upper may advantageously be held in overlasted position upon'the insole by the application of a binding wire 88 the ends of which may be secured to anchoring tacks, such as the tack 90 shown in Fig. 10. The heel seat portion of theshoe may be lasted in any usual man-v r'ierfa'ndthe` uppery secured inv place upon the insole by-'rn'eans of tacks '972.

i 'During the lasting of the -forepart the lasting piece 48, stiffened by its marginal .rib 5U, will-ef- -fectively reinforce the skeleton insole against any tendency to buckle under the inward wiping action of the staple nozzle 82. Due to the inherentstiness of the rib and itsvendless forma'- tion which further strengthens-it, the rib'will not `bend outwardly or become'deformed by the reactionk of the lasted upper` withthe'r'esult that ness or wrinkles and a smoother and'more tightly lasted shoe will beproduced. MoreoVe-r,`the reinforcing patch and the tacks 60 servefto prevent the skeletonjinsole from being stretchedL orjdistorted by any'reactive strains which may occur immediately after the lasting has been completed.

. the upper is not permitted to develop any slackjAfter the lasting cement has become set the surplus allowance of the upper, vtogether with the rib 50 of the lasting piece 48, are trimmed off beneath the .line of staples, the trimming,l operation being facilitated by the fact that the presence of the rib on` the klasting piece presents the upper materials in an upstanding position where they are readily accessible to the trimming instrumentalities.

At the completion of the trimming operation the tacks are pulled and the remainder of the lasting piece 4ty is removed.

The lasting piece '48 may bereadily removed after the tacks '60 have been withdrawn, inasmuchas the tacks are the only means employed for securing it in place. The removal of the tacks 6l) also frees the insole from the last, leaving the last free to be withdrawn from the shoe after the latterhas been completed. Preferably, the' reinforcing piece 34 is left cemented to the insole and isallowed to remain inthe finished shoe where it performs the important function of reinforcing the rand-like forepart' of the insole vagainst any tendency of `the latter to become stretched or distorted by any strains to which it is subjected during the Wearing of the shoe.

I As illustrated inFig. 15, a filler piece96 of felt o-r other softand yielding material may be laid over the reinforcing piece 34 to assist in lling the space within the overlasted margins ofthe upper materials and to serve as means for cushioning the foot. The use of such ller piece is by cement in any well-.known manner to the overlasted margins of the-upper, as indicated in Fig. l5, or it may be attached in any other suitable manner as by means of through-and-through stitching Iafter the last has been withdrawn. The usual full-length sock lining may be applied, or, if desired, a'short'sock lining may be employed to cover only the heel and shank portions of the shoe bottom inasmuchasfthe reinforcing piece 34 will serve as a covering for theller piece 96 or for the outsole projection 26 in case no filler 28 in theyoutsole projection will be covered so that they cannot cause discomfort to the foot. Furthermore, inasmuch as the reinforcing piece piece` is used. In either case the open lgrooves 34 is cemented to the vbeveled inner margin of the rand-like forepart of the skeleton insole, the thin inner edge of the latter willy be held in place so that it will have no tendency tovcurl upwardly during the wearing of the shoe. If desired, the filler piece 96 may be omitted in which case' the outsole. will be applied with the projection 26 in intimate engagement with the reinforcing piece t4, as shown in Fig. 16.

Having described my invention, what I claim' as new and desire Vto secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. That improvement in methods of making shoes wcch consists in providing an insole having aA central fort-:part openingen outsole having a central, forepart projection complemental yto saidfinsole opening, and a lasting piece corresponding in `edge contour to that of the forepart and having upstanding marginal lasting rib entendi: ely around its periphery, applying 1 forcing piece to insole forepart so as to extend across said opening and cementing the margin of said piece to the margin of said insole, placing said insole on a last, positioning said lasting piece upon the insole over said reinforcing piece, temporarily securing said parts to the last, assembling an upper with said parts on the applying adhesive between the margin of the insole and the lasting allowance of the upper, iorcing the adhesive-treated parts into Contact, temporarily fastening the lasting allowance to said rio., permitting the adhesive to set, cutting oii; the surplus lasting allowance in the forepart only of the shoe together with that portion of said rib to which the lasting allowance is temporarily fastened, removing the remainder of said lasting piece but leaving said reinforcing piece secured to said insole, and attaching the outsole with its forepart projection tting within the opening in said insole and being covered by said reinforcing piece. f

In shoemaliing methods, that improvement Y which consists in providing a lastingv piece of thin stiff sheet material corresponding in shape of theforepart ofthe upper and said marginal portion of the insole, securing the upper to said lastinglip and against said marginal `portion of i the insole, trimming off the attachedv portions of said lip. and said upper after said cement has set,

removing the remainder of said lasting piece without removing said reinforcing piece, and attaching an outsole.l y

'3; That improvement in methods of making -shoeswhich consists inproviding an insole havinga forepart openingsurrounded by a marginal rand portion, anoutsole having a central forepart projection complemental toV said insole opening, and a lasting piece corresponding in edgecontour to that of the insole forepart and having .an upstanding marginal lasting rib extending entirely around its periphery, the rand portion of said insole'having a plurality of transverse slits in its outsole-facing side, `applying to the forepart of said insole'a reinforcing piece of the same size as said lasting piece and cementing said reinforcing piece to said rand portion ofthe insole at the side which is to face the outsole so `as to bridge said insole opening4 and to cover said slits, placing said insole upon alast, positioning said lasting piece upon the insole over saidv reinforcing piece, driving tacks through the lasting Y piece and-through the reinforcing piece and the insoleand into said last temporarily to secure said members together, assembling an upper with said parts onV the last, applying adhesive between said rand portion of the insole and the lasting allowance of the upper, forcing the adhesive` treated parts into Contact, temporarily fastening the lasting allowance to said rib, permitting the Aadhesive to set, cutting off'the surplus lasting 

